Two Korean War Demonstrations

There were two demonstrations on July 27 commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, one in Washington and one in Pyongyang. Both served North Korea's interests.

A handful of protestors marched in Washington, ostensibly demanding a peace treaty to bring the war to a formal end. Naturally, the protests laid the impasse at the feet of the United States, its military forces, and its joint defensive military exercises with South Korea. Among the groups promoting the march and its causes was the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.

Of course, no similar demonstration took place in Pyongyang where protest is unthinkable. There is no freedom of association, assembly, travel, communications, religion, or speech in North Korea. Even a casual comment can lead to your arrest. The peace groups protesting in Washington are unwilling to address the Kim regime's gross violation of human rights. If you want lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, work for basic human rights in North Korea.  

Instead, Kim staged yet another mass propaganda rally in support of the regime. Staged mass rallies are one of North Korea's specialties. North Korea spins July 27 as Victory Day, and it used the occasion to threaten the world with a parade of nuclear weaponry.

The political situation within North Korea has not changed since Kim Il Sung invaded South Korea with Russian and Chinese backing on June 25, 1950. We are now on our third generation of the Kim family dictatorship. An Iron Curtain still surrounds North Korea. The regime itself is the single greatest cause of suffering for the North Korean people. Every reputable human rights organization recognizes the regime's cruelty, including those well left of center (United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International). Well-meaning but naive "peace" groups do not. That subjects them to manipulation by North Korean propaganda and leads them unwittingly to do Kim Jung Il's bidding. I'm sure Kim enjoyed the demonstrations in both Pyongyang and Washington last week.

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